Board to discuss property-tax adjustments

Published: Monday, May 1, 2006 at 6:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, May 1, 2006 at 12:01 p.m.

HOUMA -- The Terrebonne Parish School Board will discuss Tuesday scheduling a public hearing in June to determine how much local residents will pay in school property taxes.

The board will meet at 7 p.m. in its office, 201 Stadium Drive.

Under a new state law, all taxing districts must place advertisements in the local newspaper notifying residents about upcoming public hearings before adopting or changing property tax.

The changes were made by the state Legislature this year for those taxing districts across Louisiana. Each year, the School Board and other districts have a choice:

Keep the property tax rates, called millages, as they are and collect a windfall from an increase in property values.

Roll back the tax rate and collect the same amount of money as the year before.

The new tax laws stipulate that an advertisement must be published in the local newspaper of record -- in Houma, itís The Courier -- by July 15 or a month before the public hearing.

To make sure the public is aware of the upcoming hearing, the notice should be prominently placed -- not in the classified section -- in boldface type and must be published twice, the state law says.

Currently, the School Board is not collecting its maximum millage, so there is a chance the board could increase its property tax for this year.

Finance Committee Chairman Donald Duplantis said the board will go over dates to run its two advertisements in The Courier and when it will hold a public meeting.

"No, there is no talk yet about increase of millage," he said. "What we are having to do now is to comply with state law."

The two property taxes that board will advertise for are the regular school maintenance tax and the special school maintenance tax.

In Louisiana, the first $75,000 of a homeís value is exempt from taxes.

The board can adopt the regular taxesí adjusted rate of 3.76 mills, which now costs $9.40 annually for an owner of a $100,000 house. The maximum rate available is 3.86 mills, which is $9.65 annually for a $100,000 house.

The special school-maintenance taxes adjusted rate currently is 5.28, which currently costs $13.20 annually for an owner of a $100,000 house. The maximum the School Board could increase this tax rate is 5.41, which would cost $13.53 for the owner of a $100,000 house.

The School Board has scheduled a public hearing for 7 p.m. June 20. The advertisements are expected to run May 13 and 14.

Courier staff writer Mika Edwards can be reached at 857-2202 or mika.edwards@houmatoday.com.

<p>HOUMA -- The Terrebonne Parish School Board will discuss Tuesday scheduling a public hearing in June to determine how much local residents will pay in school property taxes.</p><p>The board will meet at 7 p.m. in its office, 201 Stadium Drive.</p><p>Under a new state law, all taxing districts must place advertisements in the local newspaper notifying residents about upcoming public hearings before adopting or changing property tax.</p><p>The changes were made by the state Legislature this year for those taxing districts across Louisiana. Each year, the School Board and other districts have a choice:</p><p>Keep the property tax rates, called millages, as they are and collect a windfall from an increase in property values.</p><p>Roll back the tax rate and collect the same amount of money as the year before.</p><p>The new tax laws stipulate that an advertisement must be published in the local newspaper of record -- in Houma, it’s The Courier -- by July 15 or a month before the public hearing.</p><p>To make sure the public is aware of the upcoming hearing, the notice should be prominently placed -- not in the classified section -- in boldface type and must be published twice, the state law says.</p><p>Currently, the School Board is not collecting its maximum millage, so there is a chance the board could increase its property tax for this year.</p><p>Finance Committee Chairman Donald Duplantis said the board will go over dates to run its two advertisements in The Courier and when it will hold a public meeting.</p><p>"No, there is no talk yet about increase of millage," he said. "What we are having to do now is to comply with state law."</p><p>The two property taxes that board will advertise for are the regular school maintenance tax and the special school maintenance tax.</p><p>In Louisiana, the first $75,000 of a home’s value is exempt from taxes.</p><p>The board can adopt the regular taxes’ adjusted rate of 3.76 mills, which now costs $9.40 annually for an owner of a $100,000 house. The maximum rate available is 3.86 mills, which is $9.65 annually for a $100,000 house.</p><p>The special school-maintenance taxes adjusted rate currently is 5.28, which currently costs $13.20 annually for an owner of a $100,000 house. The maximum the School Board could increase this tax rate is 5.41, which would cost $13.53 for the owner of a $100,000 house.</p><p>The School Board has scheduled a public hearing for 7 p.m. June 20. The advertisements are expected to run May 13 and 14.</p><p>Courier staff writer Mika Edwards can be reached at 857-2202 or mika.edwards@houmatoday.com.</p>